Fitting submarine signaling-apparatus in vessels.



s. LAKE; FITTING SUBMARINE, SIGNALING APPARATUS IN VIESELS.

APPLICATION 171mm JUNE 4, 1912. RENEWED JUNE 9, 191 w Patented Jan 6. 19 14.

2 SHEET @uuca S. LAKE. 'FITTING SUBMARINESIGNALING APPARATUS IN VESSELS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 4, 1912. RENEWED JUNE 9,1913.

1,988,448. Patented Jan. 6, 1914 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

3 noeutoz Wdmeooao uronrio.

SIMON LAKE, or MILFORD, connno'rrco'r, asszeivoa To LIAKE ronrnno BOAT Germany, or BRIDGEPORT, connncrxour, A CORPORATION or MAINE.

FITTING sUnMARIuE SIGN LINGAPP RATUS IN VESsELS.

specification ofLetters Patent. infin t (1,1311. 6,1914.

- Application filed June. 4, 1912, Serial m. zors esp Renewed June 9, 1913. Serial No. 772,692.

' To all wlunnit may (once/'11 in the county of New Haven and State of Be it known that I, SIMON LAKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milford.

Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fitting Submarine Signaling Apparatus in Vessels, of which the following is a specification. 7

'. -Heretofore in the installation of submarinesignaling apparatus in submarine or.

submersible boats it has been the practice to mount the bell of the apparatus upon the deck, but this position has been founv objectionable principally because signals could be transmitted only when the boat was entirely submerged. It has also been the practice to arrange in the hull a well or-housing for 'the apparatus, extending entirely throu h the hull and to provide mechanism where y" the bell could be extended beyond the lines of the hull when signals were to be sent so that the sound \vaveswould not be interruptedby theflhull. This arrange ment permitted of the entire apparatus beadapted to be put under air pressure to cx-- elude water, and permanently extending the end of the bell of the apparatus through an opening in the hull which is surrounded by the housing, the housing being closed water tight at its inner end by a casing coin mining the mechanism for sounding the bell, thus not only utilizing the casing as a closure for the inner end of; the housing which will exclude the water when the boat is operating under normal conditions, but ad'- mitting of the apparatus being drawn inside of the boat while the boat is in the Water, and in all ,-kinds of weather, and whether upon the surface or submerged,.it being understood that when the entire apparatus is to be removed, the compartment is first rendered air-tight, and then compressed air admitted to counterbalance theexternal pressure so as to permit the removal of the apparatus without'danger of waterentering the boat.

The invention also consists in a simple and inexpensive apparatus for imparting sonorous vibrations to the sonant body of theapparatus.

,In.the accompanying drawings, in the sev- 61111 figures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 is a side view of the forward end of a submarine or submersible torpedo boat with the invention applied thereto. Fig 2 is a vertical longitudinal section drawn through a portion of the hull showing the location of t 1e signaling apparatus. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section drawn through the keel on the line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 1 is' a transverse section on a scale drawn on the line 1-4 of Fig. 2.

The hull-1 is divided in its forward end by tra'nsverse partitions or bulkheads 2 and 3 to provide a compartment 4 which I prefer to call a divers compartment, which may be open to the surrouiulingbody of water through a hatch-way 5 controlled by an outwardly: opening cover 6.

The after bulkhead 2 is formed with door-way 7 con that extends upwardly intoand terminates within the compartment 4, the lower end of the housing being securely connected to the plating of the hull in the usual manner and opening to the exterior of the hull. The upper end of the housing is formed with an annular flange 13 upon which is mounted and securely fastened by bolts 11, the horizontal plate 14 of a. hollow casting 15 that extends down into the housing 12. The

casting 15 is formed with a central sleeve 15 whose lower end forms a stuiiingbox 16 in which is threaded a gland 17 between whose lower flanged end 17 and the lower end of the sleeve 15 is held a resonant body 18, which in present showing is a bell. The lower end or sound bow of the bell exlarger tends through the opening 10 of the hull beyond the lines of the latter so that the sound waves therefrom may have a free and no unobstructed passage through the water in all directions from the boat, The top of the bell is provided with an opening through which the sleeve of the gland p, 17 passes so that the flange head 17 will rest under the top to hold the bell in position, and in -prawthrough the gland 1'7, the stulling box 16,v

through the sleeve 15 and through a stufiling box and gland 24 at theupper end of the said sleeve. The upper end of the shaft is provided with a flange head 25 upon which is mounted a steel disk 26 that provides an armature for an electro lifting magnet 27 preferably of the iron clad type, having inner and outer oles 28 and 29, respectively, between whic are held the magnetic coils 30. While I have shown a magnet for operating the striker of the hell it will be understood that a solenoid may be employed in its stead where a long lift or movement of the shaft is'required, but where the movement is slight as in the construction shown, I consider the magnet preferable owing to its greater power. The magnet 27 is supported by a yoke 33 that extends upwardly from the plate 14: of the casting 15 and is held to the yoke by screw bolts 32. The magnet and its co-acting parts that are arranged above the plate 14; are incased in a hood 31 that is securely bolted to the said plate and the current wires to the coils are secured to plug'sockets 3-:1- carried by the hood which are adapted to receive plugs 34 carried by current wires 35 that extend from a suitable controller (not shown) arranged within the boatand to which may be connected the terminals of a suitable supply source preferably one of the storage battery systems (not shown) of the boat. A yoke 36 extends upwardly from the plate 14 of the casting, between which and a collar held upon the shaft- 23 is interposed an expansion spring 37 which serves to normally hold the armature away from the magnet and for releasing it the 'cfrom when the magnet is demagnetized. ture may be instantly released'from the magnet when the current is cut off, I arrange a thin sheet of suitable non-magnetic material 38 over the top of the armature which engages the poles of the magnet when the armature is attracted thereby. A.

Interme- .11 order that the armablock 38 of suitable non-magnetic material is also arranged between the armature and its support 25. l j

The bolts 11 for securing the casting 15 and the hood 31 upon the housing 12 are preferably formed with collars 11 intermediate their ends which fit in sockets formed in the upper surface of the plate 14 of the casting and the ends of the bolts are threaded to receive securing nuts whereby the several parts are securely held together. By thus securing the said parts together it will be apparent that the one set of bolts serves to 'fasten the hood and casting to the housing and also permits the removal of the hood without disconnecting the casting from its housing.

In practice I purpose arranging the opening 10 in the hull directly over the keel 40 of the boat and thus utilize the keel as a guard for the bell. In this case the keel. will be formed of a width substantially equal to the diameter of the bell andwith a recess in its upper surface into which the bell operates, and in order to avoid any obstructions to the sound waves emanating from the bell and thus allow them to travel in all directions from the boat, I bevel the sides of the vertical edges of the keel at the ends of the recess upon opposite sides of the opening 10, as shown at 41. However, Ido not wish to be limited to this location of the apparatus as it may be located in the how beyond the keel or to one side of the keel, nor do I wish to be limited to the arrangement of the apparatus in a special driyers compartment as it will be apparent that the'apparatus may be located in any other compartment, such for instance as water-ballast tanks, that are capable of being placed under air pressure wherebyto exclude water when the apparatus is removed from its housing. The advantages, however, of locating the apparatus in such a compartment -'will be readily seen, and it will be understood that it is only necessary to close the compartment and put it under air pressure when the entire signaling apparatus and its casings may be removed, thus avoiding the necessity of docking the boat in order to repair the apparatus, and which provides an arrangement whereby the apparatus may be repaired in rough weather and while lying either at or below the surface of thewater;

In the event of the apparatus beingjremoved from its housing for any considerable length of time, ,the inner end of the housing may be temporarily closed by a suitable cover so that pressure in the compartment may be released; 'By supporting the magnet in a yoke that is carried by the casting 15 it is evident that the hood may be raised to expose the magnet or removed entirely so that working of the magnet and its armature may be observed. It will also be evident that by arranging a removable cover for the parts carried above the casting, that the apparatus may be operated manually by grasping the sides of the armature and raising and lowering it to cause the striker to contact with the bell.

What I claim is L 1. In combination with a submarine or sub'lnersible torpedo boat having an airtight compartment inthe hull thereof a housing fixed to the hull of the boat in said compartment and surrounding an opening in the hull and opening to the exterior of the boat, and a sound producing apparatus supported by the'housing with its resonant body extending into said housing and fixedly supported beyond the outer lines of the hull, said apparatus forming a closure for the inner end of the housing within said air-tight compartment. 2. In combination with a submarine or submersible boat having a compartment in its hull adapted to be rendered air-tight, a

housing surrounding an opening in the hull and extending into and terminating within said compartment and opening to the exterior of the hull, and a sound producing apparatus removably supported upon said.

housing providing a closure for the inner end thereof within the compartment and having. its resonant body projecting into said housing and permanently extended beyond the lines of'the hull when the apparatus is in positionin the boat.

3. In combination with' a submarine or submersible boat, a compartment arranged in the hull of the boat adapted to be rendered air-tight, a housing surrounding an opening in the hull and'extending into and terminating within said compartment and open to the exterior of the hull, and a submarine signaling apparatus supported by said housing within said compartment'with its resonant body extended through the opening in the. hull, said apparatus providing a closure for the inner-end of the housing. a

4. In a submarine signaling apparatus for vessels, a housing fixed to the hull of the vessel and surrounding an opening therein and extending into and terminating within the hull of the vessel and open to the exterior of the vessel,-a casting having a plate detachably mounted upon and forming .a closure a-striker co-acting with said resonant body, 1

electrical means having a portion extending through said casting for operating said striker and removably mounted upon the plate of said casting, a hood for said electrical means secured upon said housing .and casting and detachable therefrom indeptndently of the casting, and connections pas ing through said hood for supplying energy to said electrical means.

5. In combination with a submarine or submersible boat, a housing arranged therein surroundingyan opening in the hull of the boat'and opening to the exterior of the boat, a sound producing apparatus supported by said housing having its resonantbody permanently extended beyond the lines of the hull through the opening in the hull, and a guard of a width substantially equal to the diameter of the resonant body secured to the hull and recessed to receive the exposed end of said resonant body, the sides of the vertical edges of which upon substantially diametrically opposite sides of the resonant body are beveled inwardly, whereby to avoid interruption of the sound waves emanating from said resonant body.

. 6.. In combination with a submarine or submersible boat having a keel provided with a recess in its upper surface adjacent to the hull, and an opening in. the hull above said recess, of a housing within the hull surrounding said opening, and a sound producing device arranged within the housing and extended into the recess in and guarded by the keel, the said keel being of a Width substantially equal to the diameter of said sound producing device and having the sides of the vertical edges thereof at the ends of said recess beveled inwardly upon substantially diametrically opposite sides of the sound producing device to permit the sdund waves to travel in all directions.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 31st day of May, A. D. 1912. SIMON LAKE. Witnesses:

C. E. ADAMS,

M. D. BLO-NDEL. 

